A Business Owner's Guide To Avoiding Traffic Nightmares During Unavoidable Highway Construction

1 June 2015

Marvin Simmons

Regardless of where your business is located, you can be willing to bet that at some point during your the time you are open to the public, highway construction will become part of the equation. Roadway repairs and repaving are a natural maintenance aspect of any highway and ultimately help to ensure customers have a safe route to travel. But however important, highway construction can pose some serious headaches for business owners who are ill-informed or not appropriately prepared. Here are some helpful tips to keep you from running into a major traffic issue during the process.

1. Stay Ahead of the Game - It is likely that you will be notified by the chamber of highway and traffic in the province where you live, but it never hurts to know even before you are informed. Check with the Ministry of Transportation for news about upcoming roadway projects and repairs in the planning phases. When you are fully aware of a construction project coming up, you will have more time to prepare your customers, reroute traffic, or make alternative parking arrangements.

2. Learn Your Province's Zoning Laws - Because business can be directly affected during a highway project, many provinces will slightly relax zoning laws temporarily to provide some relief. This may include allowing you to instruct customers to park in typically restricted areas or take new routes to avoid detour ramps and obstacles that would be in the way.

3. Get Connected with Highway Project Managers - The people who are in direct control over the highway project will be your most reliable source of traffic guidance information. As soon as you are informed of an upcoming project, start asking for names and contact information of the people who will be in charge. If you are seeing a major back up of traffic surrounding your business, you can always pick up the phone and call to find out what you need to do.

4. Adjust Your Business's Hours of Operation - It may not be the most desirable thing to do, but in some cases, you may have access to your business blocked and have no choice but to close your business until a part of the project is complete. Plan in advance with the project manager to determine if this will be a scenario you will face and make plans accordingly. Customers trying to make their way to your business when access is closed could easily cause a major backup and make for some pretty irritated drivers.

Even though highway construction is often an unavoidable thing, it does not have to be a stress-filled situation. In the end, if you plan appropriately and work closely with the highway construction managers, you will be much less likely to see a negative impact on your business. Contact a professional highway construction company like Dawson Construction Ltd for more information on planning around highway constructing.